Robert Cowan (died 21 February 1737) was an Irish colonial administrator and the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...

from 1729 to 1734. He was a collateral ancestor of the Marquesses of Londonderry through the marriage of his sister, Mary Cowan, to Alexander Stewart, father of

Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry PC (Ire) (1739–1821), was a County Down landowner, Irish Volunteer, and member of the Irish Parliament who, exceptionally for an Ulster Scot and Presbyterian, rose within the ranks of Ireland's ...

. Cowan was descended from

Ulster Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to: * Ulster Scots people * Ulster Scots dialect Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect (whose proponents assert is a dialect of Scots language, Scots) spoken in parts ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

stock, and his father, John Cowan, was an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of the city of

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. He entered the service of the East India Company some time before 1720 and retired in 1735, two years before his death. In 1721, he was involved in an unsuccessful campaign against

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

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Kanhoji Angre Kanhoji Angre (Help:IPA/Marathi, anʱod͡ʒiː aːŋɡɾe, also known as Conajee Angria or Sarkhel Angré (August 1669 – 4 July 1729) was a Maratha Navy admiral. Kanhoji became known for attacking and capturing European Union, European Ea ...

. His personal fortune, amassed as governor, became part of the basis of the wealth of the Stewart family for generations.

Chronology

1710-1719 Lisbon (Portugal) (Teggin 2020, 36-36). 1710-1717 Trade in madeira wine (Teggin 2020, 7) 1717-1718 RC leaves Lisbon for London 1719 feb 17 petition of Robert Cowan to East India Company to travel East (Teggin 36). Robert Cowan allowed to travel as free merchant under East India Company rules 1718-1721 London 1721-22 Goa (India) (Teggin 60–92) 1721 feb 8 – 1722 jan 6. 287 letters written by RC from Goa. (34 letters about wine and arak trade) 1721 February Robert Cowan arrives in Goa as EIC representative. 1721 Robert Cowan writes treatise of 1721 with Portuguese (Teggin 2020, 86–92, text 338–342) RC fluent Portuguese speaker (Teggin 2020, 73) letters written in French (Teggin 2020, 19). He knew Gujarati language? (Teggin 2020, 19) His counterpart was Francis Joseph de Sampayo é Castro, Viceroy of Portuguese India (1720-1723). (Teggin 2020, 73) 1722 April- August Surat (Gujarat, India) (Teggin 2020, 93–102) 1722 RC appointed by EIC to overlook company accounts in Surat. (Teggin 2020, 91) 1722 April RC order set of armorial plates owan to Scattergood, Surat, Apr. 1722, (PRONI, Cowan Papers, D654/B/1/1AA, f. 137v)(Teggin 2020, 306). It took three years to complete the order (1722-1725). 1722 August – 1724 Bombay 1724-1727 Mocha (Yemen) (Teggin 2020, 103–154). 1724 January RC hired by EIC to head factory in Mocha. (arabica coffee). He was chief representative of EIC in Mocha. Cowan deals with coffee trade (Teggin 2020, 107–116). Robert Cowan proposes the closing of the Mocha office of East India Company (which then occurs). 1725 William Cowan (Robert's brother) joins EIC. (William in Lisbon 1719-1725?) RC's ships travelled to Malacca, Judda and Bombay, Maldives, China Bussorah from Mocha (Teggin 2020, 128–129) 1727 withdrawal of Mocha Factory. 1728- 1735 Bombay (Mumbai, India) (Teggin 2020, 155–277) 1728 RC appointed Governor of Bombay. 1729 July new firman negotiated with Mocha. 1732-1735 travels for RC estination (ship date) Bengal (Carolina Aug 1732); Bengal (Carolina May 1733) Bengal (Edward Feb 1734) Bengal (Aug 1734) Bengal and Mangalore (Balls 31st Oct 1732) Bombay (Royal Guardian Aug 1734) Bussorah (Bussorah Merchant Nov 1733) Bussorah (Peggy Feb 1734) Bussorah (Carolina (Jan 1735) Calcutta (Edward Aug 1733) China (Balls Jul 1732) China/Canton (Nassau Mar 1733) China/Canton (Nassau May 1733) China/Canton (Cowan Frigate Apr 1734) Malabar (Cowan Frigate Aug 1734) Malacca (Edward (Aug 1732) Malacca (Edward (Aug 1732) Malacca (Edward Nov 1732) Malacca (Edward Jul 1733) Malacca (Nassau Jan 1735) Mocha and Malabar (Nassau Oct 1732) Mocha and Malabar (Carolina Oct 1732) Mocha (Edward Oct 1734) Mocha and Bussorah (Carolina Sept 1734) Surat (Carolina Jan 1733) Surat (Nassau Oct 1734) Surat (Wilmington Oct 1734) eggin 237 1734 October instructs John Gould Jr to find a house at St. James’ in London (Teggin 2020, 292) 1735 4 January will of RC. Will of Robert Cowan, Bombay, 4 Jan. 1735, (PRONI, Cowan Papers, D654/C/1/1A, f. 1). (Teggin 2020, 293). Chief beneficiary his brother William Cowan. In the case of the latter's demise, then Mary Cowan. The will provides that an estate should be purchased for future generations ill of Robert Cowan, Bombay, 4 Jan. 1735, (PRONI, Cowan Papers, D654/C/1/1A, f. 1)

Bibliography

* * *Watson, I. B. (2008)
Cowan, Sir Robert (d. 1737)
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', Oxford University Press, accessed 1 Nov 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Robert 1737 deaths British MPs 1734–1741 Governors of Bombay Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall British East India Company civil servants Ulster Scots people Year of birth unknown